ARTICLES ABOUT SHOPPING BY DATE - PAGE 2

Will Neal sat hunched in a circular tub of frigid water, blowing air in and out, just trying to breathe. Behind him, Miguel Blancarte Jr. and Corey Parker reclined side by side, each wearing inflated black boots that rose to their hips, making them look like human balloons. The three amateur athletes were at the Chicago Recovery Room, a South Loop business that specializes in what sports medicine experts call active recovery, the compressing and contracting of muscles using everything from ice water to rollers, compression boots and electric muscle stimulators.

'Tis the season for trade rumors in the NHL, and one in particular has the Blackhawks' Patrick Sharp and his agent hopping mad. Earlier this week, Sportsnet in Canada's Nick Kypreos reported the Hawks had made Sharp available for trade. According to Sharp's agent, Rick Curran, the rumor is "a complete fabrication" and the veteran winger isn't going anywhere. Curran told the Tribune he recently met with Hawks general manager Stan Bowman to get a lay of the land because Bowman is in the process of negotiating contract extensions for Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane that will affect the Hawks' salary-cap space for seasons to come.

A plan for a gun shop and shooting range within walking distance of several schools is generating controversy in near northwest suburban Niles. The proposal has drawn complaints because the business would stand within walking distance of schools including Niles West High School and a therapeutic school that serves students with emotional disabilities and other issues. Both the local high school district and the therapeutic school oppose the proposal. The Niles Village board had originally scheduled a vote Tuesday night on a permit for the proposed shop, but officials instead sent the measure back to the Plan Commission and Zoning Board of Appeals for further research and discussion.

Hollywood market research firm Worldwide Motion Picture Group abruptly shuts its doors just days before its CEO and his longtime lieutenants announced a new venture Tuesday, leaving conflicting accounts of what exactly transpired. MPG CEO Vincent Bruzzese is starting a new, similar shop with the backing of film producers/financiers Benaroya Pictures and Miscellaneous Entertainment. Bruzzese had founded MPG over a decade ago. But the circumstances surrounding the MPG closure and subsequent launch of the new form, called C4 , are cloudy.

Summertime means being outside, whether it's at the beach, a street festival or just in the backyard. As good as it might feel to soak up the sun, doctors warn that people need to take more seriously their use of sunscreen to avoid premature aging or worse - skin cancer. It's getting a little easier to do that. In 2012, new rules from the Food and Drug Administration took effect governing label information regarding sunscreen. Included in the new rules are defining the term "broad spectrum," which means a sunscreen offers protection from both ultraviolet A (UVA)

Chicago tobacco sellers with past convictions for selling drug paraphernalia could lose their tobacco retailer licenses under a plan being pushed by a Lakeview alderman who hopes to thin out a dense collection of "head shops" he said are drawing the ire of neighboring businesses. Ald. Tom Tunney, 44th, said there are about 10 stores selling "tobacco accessories" in the vicinity of Belmont Avenue and Clark Street. Tunney defined those items as including rolling papers, rolling machines and pipes, items that are sometimes used for smoking marijuana in addition to tobacco.

Penn Station East Coast Subs is ready to expand into Chicago, hoping its grilled and cold subs stand out in a market already stuffed with sandwich-centric chains. Despite its East Coast name, Penn Station got its start in Cincinnati. Founder Jeff Osterfeld opened his first Penn Station restaurant in 1985, featuring grilled cheese steaks, fresh-cut fries and hand-squeezed lemonade that he fashioned after foods he enjoyed on the East Coast. The menu now includes a number of sandwiches, including chicken, sausage and vegetarian options.

SHANGHAI -- Alibaba , the Chinese home shopping giant that is hatching an IPO of some $150 billion in New York, says it plans to revolutionize the entertainment industry. The massive company will seek to align the different elements of the digital economy and in the process become one of the top film industry players in China . "Alibaba is now picking up speed in the digital culture industry," said Patrick Liu Chunning, head of Alibaba's Digital Media Group at a seminar in Shanghai on Sunday.

Retail gun and ammunition shops will be allowed in certain parts of Grayslake if an amendment to the village's zoning ordinance passes at the next board meeting. The village's committee of the whole agreed on the amendment's provisions, which would allow retail firearm and/or ammunitions sales in the general business and shopping center business zones as well as light industrial areas. A special-use permit would be required. The committee also agreed not to allow such sales in the central business area, which includes downtown along Center Street.

Summer stirs the urge to hit the road - and if it's a dirt one, so much the better. But before you set up camp somewhere far, far away from six-lane highways, you may want to stop for provisions at Nordstrom's Oakbrook Center outpost or go to nordstrom.com/pop) . There, the latest temporary Pop-In @ Nordstrom shop, titled Let's Go, has amassed a collection of items intended for or inspired by the great American road trip, complete with a nostalgic air. Many of the selections are made in the U.S. and are aimed at camping - or its upscale entry-level variation, "glamping.